The Best of Arizona: Governors

He was decisive, and while he was a more or less doctrinaire
intellectual liberal, he understood the reality of politics and
moved confidently between parties. He forced action in an important
area of the No. 1 issue in the history of the West - water rights.
It was in his administration that the Groundwater Management Act
was put in place. Also, he greatly expanded the parks system, which
boosted Arizona's reputation as a destination for outdoor
recreation. 1978-1987.

Paul Fannin

Also decisive, and as conservative as Babbitt was liberal. A
successful businessman, chairman of the Western Governors
Conference, creator of the Arizona-Mexico Trade Commission,
supporter of the system then called the junior colleges, supporter
of state aid to education and helped lay the groundwork for the
Central Arizona Project. His philosophy and leadership enabled a
great expansion of Arizona's business and industrial base.
1959-1965.

George W. P. Hunt

Decisiveness again, this time on the left; for women's suffrage,
initiative, referendum and recall; and other issues. He was stained
by connection with the International Workers of the World but he
was so strong a presence on so many fronts that he has to be on the
list. He was prescient, too: He opposed Arizona membership in the
Colorado River Compact on grounds that it gave away too much to
California. 1911-1919, 1923-1929, 1931-1933.

Tom Campbell

He alternated the governorship with Hunt in Arizona's beginning
as a state. His background as a tax commissioner gave him a
professional understanding of the pain government can inflict
through taxation. His pushback against Hunt's left-wing politics
gave needed balance to the new state. 1917 and 1919-1923.

Sidney Osborn

Elected four times after failing in several campaigns, so he
must have been doing something right. He slugged it out with the
Legislature, vetoing bills right and left and establishing a
hardball approach leading into the great political Right to Work
war, during which he was adept at dancing between the fields of
fire. He brought Arizona into the Colorado River Compact.
1941-1948.

- Selected by Ned Creighton, whose publishing family began
covering state government in 1906. He and his wife, Diana, sold the
Capitol Times in 2005.